Rasputin: The Mad Monk 1966

Rasputin Christopher Lee stirs trouble from the very start in a rural scene where he heals the innkeeper Derek Francis’s wife and, illicitly, seduces the innkeeper’s daughter, Sonia Barbara Shelley. A desperate young man attempts to kill him, but Rasputin fights back, severing the would-be assassin’s hand and then pressing his seduction further as the girl screams. The inn becomes a battlefield of fear and awe as crowds surge in, but Rasputin slips away and seeks sanctuary in his monastery. The conflict introduces a figure whose charisma and appetite for power will pull nearly everyone into his orbit, leaving a shadow over those who briefly oppose him.

When Rasputin is hauled before an Orthodox bishop, The Bishop Joss Ackland for sexual immorality and violence, he faces a public moral reckoning. Rasputin defends himself with a provocative grin, arguing that his sexuality is part of a larger, divine schism—his claim that he accrues “sins worth forgiving” through his hands and healing power unsettles the bishop’s judgment as he remains unfazed by the accusation that his influence stems from darker forces. The exchange sharpens the sense that Rasputin’s charisma isn’t merely personal charm; it is a dangerous, almost hypnotic force that unsettles religious and secular authorities alike.

From there, Rasputin pushes north to Saint Petersburg, where he brazenly intrudes into the life of the Tsarina’s household and begins a campaign to shape royal affairs. He targets Dr Zargo Richard Pasco and, through a cunning blend of manipulation and insinuation, wins a foothold in the Tsarina’s trust. He also weaponizes Sonia Barbara Shelley again, guiding her to serve his ambitions and granting him access to the Tsarina herself, Tsarina Renée Asherson. Rasputin orchestrates a chilling plan: he uses Sonia to drive a staged accident that would injure the czar’s heir, Alexei Robert Duncan, so he could be summoned to heal the boy. The tactic succeeds, and Rasputin’s hold over the royal household grows even as suspicion and fear spread through court corridors. He follows up by hypnotizing the Tsarina to replace her trusted doctor with Zargo, a coup that foreshadows even darker ambitions.

Yet Rasputin’s rapid ascent sparks resistance, and his tactics become increasingly ruthless. His widening influence rattles many, and some fear that his wealth and prestige are pushing the monarchy toward peril. When Sonia realizes her role has shifted from seduction to manipulation, she strikes back, attempting to end Rasputin’s ploy by force. The monk answers with cruel precision, placing Sonia in a trance and urging her to destroy herself, a grim demonstration of how far his influence extends and how little he cares for those who challenge him.

The tragedy widens as Sonia’s brother, Peter [Dinsdale Landen], discovers his sister’s body—she has died by her own wrist. Enraged by what Rasputin has done to Sonia, Peter seeks a counterforce and enlists the help of Ivan [Francis Matthews], brother of Vanessa [Suzan Farmer], a beautiful handmaiden who has drawn Rasputin’s fascination and dangerous attention. Peter’s crusade against the monk becomes personal and brutal, and the pursuit leaves a trail of scars, including a hideous acid burn on Peter’s face that contributes to a lingering, painful death.

A final, treacherous trap unfolds as Ivan pretends to arrange a meeting with Sonia’s brother to lure Rasputin into a trap, hoping to expose the monk’s true danger to the crown. But Dr Zargo has prepared a hidden weapon of his own: poison. He targets Rasputin with wine and chocolates, certain that the poison will finish the monk. Rasputin overcomes the poison, and a brutal struggle ensues. Zargo is fatally stabbed by Rasputin, yet even in his last moments he clings to Rasputin’s leg and twists the fight. The fight ends with a fatal act of defiance as Ivan hurls Rasputin out of a window, sending the once-dreaded monk to his death and sealing a dramatic, tragic chapter in the court’s history.

The story moves with a measured, historical feel, tracing the allure and menace of a man who blends supposed healing gifts with merciless ambition. It is a tale about power—how it is gained, how it is used, and how it corrupts those who seek it or fall under its spell. At its core, it contrasts spiritual authority with political manipulation, exploring the risk and the cost of placing blind faith in charisma. The characters around Rasputin, from Sonia’s aching desire to Vanessa’s dangerous curiosity, from Peter’s quest for retributive justice to Zargo’s own dangerous calculations, are drawn with a steady, almost clinical clarity. The ending lands as a stark reminder that the pursuit of power can be spectacularly ruinous, leaving behind a court reshaped by fear, betrayal, and the memory of a monk who would not be denied.